Our Cars: Volvo V40 - August

Our own long-term test V40 is still away being remedied by Volvo, so has done no miles this week, but the courtesy V40 we've got has covered plenty of distance.

It was during a long trip up the M40 that staff writer Tom Webster became aware that he wasn't comfortable with the Volvo's driving position. An aching back was the result.

The only reason we can see is that the pedals and steering wheel are fractionally offset, introducing a slight twist to the driving position. I'll keep an eye on this when my car returns.

Euan.Doig@whatcar.com

Week ending August 24Mileage 4300Miles this week 0

The V40 has done a grand total of precisely no miles this week. That's because it isn't here. It has a rattle in the driver's door, an affliction that's been there since day one.

I thought I could live with it. I tried, I really tried. I can't. I'm one of those people who, once they hear a rattle, can't stop focusing on it.

So, it has returned to Volvo. Normally, I would have taken it to a dealer, but since the first customers don't yet have their cars, I would have been sussed straight away, so it made sense to get Volvo to investigate.

Volvo is looking at the car as we speak, but the rattle is proving tricky to locate because it happens only when the car is cold. Once it warms up thoroughly, that irritating clunk from the driver's door disappears almost completely. This could take some time.

Euan.Doig@whatcar.com

Week ending August 17Mileage 4300Miles this week 200

I like to think I'm an honest fellow. I know this because I've told people a million times not to exaggerate. That's because I don't take kindly to being lied to.

Unfortunately, this happens every time I fill the V40, because without fail the distance-to-empty gauge shows me that I could do more than 1000 miles before my next fill. In reality, the car will do somewhere between 550 and 600 (if I drive like I've got the Queen herself in the back).

Now, I know this is still a good distance, but why does the gauge have to start off being so unrealistically optimistic? It merely makes me think the distance to empty at the bottom of the tank is equally inaccurate, thereby making me fill up earlier, which isn't really the point of a small diesel, is it?

IThe V40 is settling into my life very nicely indeed. It's proving economical (50.6mpg average) and it's a perfectly decent way to get through the daily slog on the M40.

One of the optional extras on my car is has already shown itself to be a wise addition. The £100 flexible boot floor is great, because it allows you to fold up part of the floor and thereby stop your shopping from sliding around on the journey home from the supermarket.

Over the course of the next year, I'm sure it’ll more than make up for its cost merely in unbroken eggs!

Euan.Doig@Whatcar.com

Week ending August 3Mileage 3200Driven this week: 700 miles

I've finally got my hands on my new V40 long-termer, which already has a few miles on it. This is because it was used for the car's UK launch in Wales, then was given a thorough assessment by the road test department (check out the What Car? October issue, which is published on August 23, for the full test).

Early impressions are of a wholly decent car. It seems to cover long miles well, the interior is a thing of beauty, and it already seems to be averaging more than 50mpg.

The only fly in the ointment is that for some as-yet-unexplained reason Volvo has fitted the D2 with a 52-litre fuel tank, when other diesels get 60-litre tanks, and the petrols get 62-litre tanks. This means that I suspect I won't get as far per fill as might be ideal. Still, roll on the next 11 months.